CBS’ “60 Minutes” offered the first look at Julia, a Muppet on “Sesame Street.”

The character, who has autism, will be introduced in a “Sesame Street” episode at 8 a.m. April 10 on HBO. The beloved children’s series also airs on PBS.

Lesley Stahl visited the “Sesame Street” sound stage in Queens and shares the clip of Julia’s debut on the series. Elmo and Abby Cadabby introduce Julia to Big Bird.

When Big Bird tries to shake Julia’s hand, she ignores him, and the feathery legend is confused.

The puppeteer for Julia is Stacey Gordon, the mother of a son with autism. She traveled from Phoenix to audition.

Adding Julia “means that our kids are important enough to be seen in society,” Gordon tells Stahl. “Having Julia on the show and seeing all of the characters treat her with compassion and like her … It’s huge.”

Christine Ferraro, a “Sesame Street” writer for 25 years, discusses the challenges of portraying autism. “It’s tricky because autism is not one thing. Because it is different for every single person who has autism,” she tells Stahl. “There is an expression that goes, ‘If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.’”

“Sesame Street” worked with autism organizations on depicting Julia to help children understand her.

“So that when they encounter them in their real life it's familiar,” Ferraro says.

On “60 Minutes,” Julia doesn’t respond when Stahl greets her.

Big Bird says of his introduction to Julia, “I thought that maybe she didn't like me.”

Elmo explains that it takes Julia “a little longer to do things. … We're pretty good at understanding people. We live with a grouch.”

“Sesame Street” has aired since 1969, and creator Joan Ganz Cooney says that a beer commercial helped answer the question whether television could teach children.

Beyond numbers, the show has taught life lessons about death, prejudice, skin color and disabilities.

Puppeteer Gordon says: “Had my son's friends been exposed to his behaviors through something that they had seen on TV before they experienced them in the classroom, they might not have been frightened. They might not have been worried when he cried. They would have known that he plays in a different way and that that's OK.”

Ferraro says she would like Julia to become a major character on “Sesame Street.”

“I would love her to be not Julia, the kid on Sesame Street who has autism. I would like her to be just Julia,” she says.

hboedeker@orlandosentinel.com

CBS News/60 Minutes

Julia, a new Muppet, joins 'Sesame Street' in April, but gets national exposure Sunday on CBS' '60 Minutes.'